Arsenal must ignore potential Unai Emery sub-plot and seize favourable Europa League draw

Arsenal were drawn with Slavia Prague in the quarter-finals of this season's UEFA Europa League on Friday.

The draw for the semi-finals took place immediately afterwards, and should the Gunners progress they will face the winners of the tie between Dinamo Zagreb and Villarreal - potentially setting up a showdown with former boss Unai Emery.

Before Mikel Arteta's side can even consider that possibility, they will need to successfully overcome Slavia Prague, who have already eliminated two good British sides - Leicester City and Rangers.

Slavia must be taken seriously. They've shown themselves to be a dangerous outfit with talented players such as Football Manager legend Nicolae Stanciu, Peter Olayinka and Lukas Provod to name a few. They've already won at the King Power and at Ibrox after draws on their own patch, and they'll be keen to add a victory at the Emirates Stadium as they bid to cause an upset.

In drawing Jindrich Trpisovsky's side, Arsenal have avoided some of the bigger European names in Ajax and Roma, as well as Premier League rivals Manchester United.

Perhaps drawing Granada at this stage would have been many people's preference but there is no doubt that in facing the Czech side, the Gunners have what looks like an easier route to the final.

There is much work to be done before Arsenal can start thinking about the potential of a semi-final meeting with Unai Emery, who took charge of the club back in the summer of 2018 and led them to the 2019 final of the competition.

Following a comprehensive defeat at the hands of Chelsea and a poor start to the following season Emery was sacked and while the focus should be on the Slavia Prague tie, it's difficult not to think of how motivated the Villarreal boss, renowned for his excellent record in this competition, would be if he was to meet the Gunners.

Putting the sub-plots to one side, Arteta can be relatively pleased with the draw and if Arsenal can cut out the errors and start converting some of the goalscoring opportunities they are now frequently creating, there is no reason they can't go all the way and salvage what has been a disappointing season overall with some silverware.